I Like You, Too, Amy Sedaris

Confession: Once again, I, Foodie, have a pile of food books stacked up next to my desk, all sent by perfectly nice folks for me to review. The latest is Jane Butel's tome, Real Women Love Chiles. I have met Jane, she's a southwest cooking guruette who lives here in NM, obviously, as she spells "chiles" correctly...And I will get to her book. ( Among others.)

But right now, I am blogging about a LIBRARY BOOK. ( Gawd, the guilt.)

Yesterday, the sirens called to me from the "new non fiction" rack. Actually, it was Amy Sedaris' wacky , colorful book on hospitality called I Like You--Hospitality Under the Influence ( Warner Books, 2006.) Born in 1961, Amy apparently would have preferred being an adult in the rickrack and jello salad-infested 1950's, stylistically and recipe-wise. ( Druggily speaking, no.) Her Lil' Smoky Cheese Ball ! Her Meatloaf Wreath! Her Band-Aid Cake!

Amy, an actor, writer, performer, etc., etc,, is Martha Stewart high, with a sense of humor, Martha nurturing and unleashing her inner tackiness. The recipes are real, though this might be hard to believe, given their surroundings. So are the pix of Amy's fake food collection scattered throughout .

( Incidentally, while leafing through a half shredded copy of an entertainment mag while biking at the gym, I read a blurb about Meryl Streep--she said that in order to prepare to play the Devil in The Devil Wears Prada she gave up drinking wine with dinner and lost a few pounds--but more crucially, she lost her sense of humor, an absolute prerequisite for playing the silver-haired glam-0-harridan....)

(OK, that was extraordinarily "incidental.")

Feeling dull? Take a look at this book---the photospread detailing how Amy puts on pantyhose will remind you why you gave them up eons ago but also whet your appetite for leaving the crafts section of the book, and trying out some of her (genuine) Greek-American recipes.

I know--this book isn't even "new." ( Sigh.)